Kansas Court of Appeals to hear oral argument in Leavenworth

TOPEKA—A three-judge panel from the Kansas Court of Appeals will hear oral argument October 16 at the Leavenworth Justice Center, and it will be the last docket for the court’s longest-serving judge before he retires early next year.

Chief Judge Karen Arnold-Burger is the presiding judge for the three-judge panel that also includes Judge Henry Green and Judge Stephen Hill. Green, who was appointed to the court in 1993, has served more years on the court than any other judge to date.
 
“We’re fortunate to have a few more months working with Judge Green, but we couldn’t let this docket pass without calling attention to it as his last docket,” Arnold-Burger said. “It will be in his hometown, where he can trace his ancestry to before the Civil War.”
 
Green graduated from Leavenworth High School, from Kansas State University with a double major in history and political science, and from the University of Kansas School of Law. After practicing law in Leavenworth for more than a dozen years, Green was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 1993.
 
Oral argument
 
The panel will hear oral arguments at 9 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 16, in courtroom 3 at the Leavenworth Justice Center at 601 S Third in Leavenworth.
 
Attorneys for each side will have an opportunity to present arguments, and the judges will have a chance to ask questions. The panel will then take each case under consideration and issue a written decision at a later date, usually within 60 days from the date of oral argument.

There are 14 judges on the Court of Appeals. They usually sit in three-judge panels to hear arguments and decide cases. In fiscal year 2022, the court resolved appeals in more than 1,000 cases, including 781 cases in which the court issued formal written decisions.

Oral argument livestream
 
This Court of Appeals docket will be livestreamed at www.youtube.com/KansasCourtofAppeals.

Accommodation

Any person with a disability who requires accommodation to access the docket should notify the judicial branch ADA coordinator as early as possible:

ADA Coordinator
ADA@kscourts.org
785-296-2256
TTY at 711

Cases on the docket
 
9 a.m.
 
126,411: Curtis Rodina v. Alberto Castaneda, D.D.S.
 
Wyandotte County: (Civil Appeal) After being treated at a dental practice, Rodina claimed he received inappropriate dental care. Rodina alleged the practice refused to identify the treating dentist, trying to protect him from a malpractice claim. Rodina was eventually able to identify Castaneda as the treating dentist, and he filed suit for negligence. After an interim appeal, the case was heard in Wyandotte County District Court. A jury found Castaneda 100 percent at fault and awarded $285,000 in damages. On appeal, Castaneda claims the district court improperly handled the remand that was the result of a prior appeal. He also challenges the district court's decision to remove the question of damages from the jury.
 
126,430: State of Kansas v. Abron Dion Slaughter
 
Johnson County: (Criminal Appeal) Slaughter was convicted of aggravated battery, criminal threat, and criminal restraint. On appeal, he argues the Johnson County District Court committed multiple errors when instructing the jury. These include the failure to instruct the jury on relevant lesser-included offenses, failing to give an unanimity instruction, failing to inform the jury on the required culpable mental state, and failing to give a limiting instruction covering witness testimony about Slaughter's prior bad acts.
 
125,137: State of Kansas v. Adrean Marquis Newson
 
Wyandotte County: (Criminal Appeal) A jury convicted Newson of rape. He claims the State violated Brady v. Maryland and its duty to produce exculpatory evidence when it suppressed a discovery file until the night before Newson presented his case to the jury. Newson also believes the prosecutor erred by misstating the law and facts relating to rape and by giving the jury her opinion on the credibility of certain trial witnesses.
 
Cases on the docket
 
1:30 p.m.
 
126,881: City of Prairie Village, Kansas, A Municipal Corporation v. PV United, Inc., and Rex Sharp
 
Johnson County: (Civil Appeal) This appeal involves several citizen protest petitions. The first challenges the City Council of Prairie Village's proposal to eliminate Single Family Residential Zones in favor of multifamily housing by right. The second proposed ending Prairie Village's strong mayor form of government. The third proposed a Council-Mayor-Manager form of government, with fewer city council members. The Johnson County District Court found fatal issues with the housing petition. It ruled the petition on abandoning the form of government could be placed on the ballot but that the petition proposing a new form of government was invalid. Both sides appeal aspects of these rulings.
 
126,532: Jamie R. Brown v. Payne and Jones, Chtd. And Owners Insurance Company
 
Workers Compensation: Brown injured her wrist while she was at work. She received coverage through workers compensation insurance, but claimed the amount of compensation she received was not calculated correctly. On appeal, she questions whether competent medical evidence should be considered in calculating the functional impairment of her scheduled injury, especially in light of criteria established by the Sixth Edition of the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment.